Polyester fiberfill (sometimes referred to as polyester fiberfilling material) has become well accepted as a reasonably inexpensive filling and/or insulating material, and is manufactured and used in large quantities for pillows, cushions and other furnishing materials, including bedding materials, and in apparel. Polyester fiberfill batting is used commercially in many apparel articles because it is an efficient and economic alternative to down and feather insulation, and it is relatively insensitive to moisture. It is, however, desirable to prevent intrusion by water, for example on cold rainy days, as intrusion by water would detract from the wearer's comfort. This has been the objective.
Conventional waterproofing that prevents perspiration from escaping is not the answer, as this perspiration would eventually collect as a liquid and detract from comfort. Recently, therefore, coatings of various types, including films, have been developed to allow water vapor to pass, but not allow liquid to pass. Generally, such films have been applied or attached to fabrics for use in making "waterproof/breathable" apparel. Such apparel has required, in practice, special seam-sealing wherever fabrics have been joined or attached, such as for arms and pockets. This special seam-sealing has been expensive and has limited design possibilities, and, for sheer fabrics, has been aesthetically objectionable. Also, recently, waterproof/breathable film has been attached to a scrim to be used as a drop-in liner; this approach gave more design freedom and reduced the amount of seam-sealing needed, but the films required special treatment to prepare them for lamination to the scrim and were attached to the scrim in a separate step.
To improve the aesthetics of polyester fiberfill, it has generally been preferred to "slicken" the fiberfill with a coating of durable (e.g., wash-resistant) coating, that has usually been a silicone, i.e., a cured polysiloxane, as disclosed, e.g., by Hofmann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,271,189, Mead et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,454,422, Ryan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,217, Salamon et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,674, Pamm, U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,042, Frankosky, U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,817, and Takemoto Oil & Fat Co. Ltd., Japanese Published Patent Application No. 58-214,585 (1983). The slickener has long presented serious problems in obtaining good adhesion, as discussed in several of these references, such as Pamm and Frankosky.
So, it has long been desirable to provide a practical solution to this problem of waterproofing polyester fiberfill batts, as such or in the form of garments or other articles filled with polyester fiberfill, especially slickened polyester fiberfill, without the defects mentioned.
Another problem has been leakage of the polyester fiberfill through surrounding shell fabric, as described by LeVan in U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,771, which again mentions the problem of getting materials to adhere to slickened polyester fiberfill.